Numbers for running the business, not reporting on it.
The problem
The year-end accounts land months after the fact and answer nothing about the year you are in. The monthly pack, if there is one, is a P&L with no commentary. The cash forecast lives in a spreadsheet somebody built two years ago.
And when you have a decision to make, whether that is a hire, a price rise, a new van or a customer who is costing more than they bring in, you end up making it on instinct because the numbers are not in a state to help.
That is the gap Northstar fills: management accounts that are right, on time, every month, and the commercial advice that comes out of them.
What we do
Every engagement starts with a Financial Reset to get the numbers onto a reliable footing, followed by monthly management accounts to keep them that way and use them to run the business.
Step one
A fixed-fee project, four to eight weeks. Puts the numbers on a reliable footing so the monthly service starts from solid ground.
Step two, every month
A review meeting with the owner, typically an hour, and written commentary on what changed, why, the risks and opportunities ahead, and which levers to pull. The numbers behind it sit in a live dashboard, not a PDF:
The review meeting is the point of the service. The dashboard and the pack exist so that the hour is spent on what to do next, not on working out what happened. Annual budgets and one-off financial cases, such as a premises purchase or a funding application, are quoted separately.
Who this is for
Complexity matters as much as size. The fit is strongest where there is:
If you have a bookkeeper and a year-end accountant and nothing in between, that is the gap.
What we don't do
We are qualified to, and we have chosen not to, because doing one thing well is what makes it worth paying for.
Your bookkeeper and your accountant stay in place. We work alongside them, and we can introduce you to people we trust if you need either.
The alternative
The usual answer is hiring a management accountant: around £60k a year once recruited, managed and covered, and you would still need a bookkeeper and an accountant behind them. You would also be buying one person's experience rather than a finance function built on running finance teams inside businesses turning over £100m or more.
Services and fees
| Turnover | Financial Reset fixed fee | Monthly management accounts monthly retainer |
|---|---|---|
| £5m to £10m | from £5,000 | from £2,500 a month |
| £10m to £15m | from £7,500 | from £3,500 a month |
| Over £15m | by scope | by scope |
All fees plus VAT. Fees are indicative and confirmed at scoping, once we have seen the books. Fees move with complexity: the starting fee in each band is for a single-entity business with books already in good shape. Annual budgets and one-off financial cases are quoted separately. Businesses below £5m turnover are considered case by case. No hourly or day rates.
How it works
Thirty minutes, no preparation. You tell us how the business runs and what the numbers tell you today. We tell you what good monthly reporting would look like and what it would take to get there.
We review your accounts, chart of accounts and reporting, then come back with what we would change and a fixed fee. We do not quote until we have seen the books, so the fee we give you is the fee you pay.
Four to eight weeks to get the balance sheet reconciled, the P&L corrected and the reporting built, so the monthly service starts from solid ground.
The accounts, the commentary, the cash forecast, the dashboard and the hour with you, on a fixed timetable you can plan around.
Who's behind Northstar
Northstar Accounting is a CIMA Member in Practice firm, which means the work is regulated and insured and the people doing it are Chartered Management Accountants.
It was founded by Billy Harding, ACMA CGMA, who spent ten years in finance teams inside large businesses, most recently running the whole finance function for a £100m+ operation with a team of six.
Book a free call
Tell us how the business runs and what the numbers tell you today. You come away with a clear view of what good monthly reporting would look like for your business, and what it would take to get there.
Contact
info@northstaraccounting.co.uk
07356 255356